


Costuming

by xenosaurus



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Halloween Costumes, Kissing, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 20:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8415610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xenosaurus/pseuds/xenosaurus
Summary: Tabris is dressed as Imperator Furiosa.  It's kind of blowing Alistair's mind.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There's some mild alcohol use in this fic, but nothing serious. If you want more details, I'll be putting them in the end notes.

Halloween is one of Alistair's favorite holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are depressingly family-oriented, but all Halloween requires is enthusiasm and a costume. As a kid, he was a masterful trick-or-treater, and in college, there are parties with alcohol and laughter. Still great! He does miss the chance to replenish his candy supply, though.

Right now, he's forgotten about sweets entirely. Tabris is dressed as Imperator Furiosa. It's kind of blowing his mind.

Alright, honesty hour, Alistair _might_ have a thing for powerful, take-no-shit women. It's also entirely possible he left Mad Max thoroughly in awe. And it's undeniable that he has feelings for Tabris. She was his first friend at college, and in the year that followed, she turned out to be the best friend he's ever had. Her anger comes from care for others and she is _always_ angry, when she isn't watching puppy videos or trying to get Alistair to try spicy food or grinning like she got away with something or--

Yeah, Alistair has a crush. You could probably see it from space.

"Holy shit, Alistair, are you King Arthur from Monty Python?"

Alright, she's seen him, emotional prep time over. Why, oh _why_ did he agree to keeping their costumes a secret? He wasn't prepared for this. He could have _prepared_ for this.

"Why, of course, Imperator," He says, trying to keep his grin as casual as possible. The dark makeup on Tabris' face only draws attention to how pretty she is when she smiles back.

"Excellent costume, your majesty," She says, looking him up and down. It's enough like she's checking him out to make him blush.

"Your majesty? I'm not sure how women lying in ponds are at picking kings, to be honest," He jokes and Tabris elbows him playfully.

"Trying to back out of your rule already?"

"You _do_ remember what happened when I was put in charge of that English presentation?"

Tabris laughs into her red solo cup.

"Shit, yeah. Point taken, you're banned from all positions of leadership," She says with a solemn nod. Even as a joke, it's an oddly comforting thing to hear.

"So, ah. How'd you do the face makeup? It looks just like the movie," Alistair says, gesturing to Tabris' face.

"Leliana is a miracle-worker. She's wasted on religious studies."

Saying her name catches Leliana's attention; she appears out of seemingly nowhere.

"Hush," She tells Tabris, but she looks pleased. Alistair is a little bit terrified that she might have been right there the whole time, and he just didn't notice. Being hypnotized by your friend in a costume isn't as platonic as he'd like to pretend it is, and Leliana sees through him even at the best of times.

"Oh, um, hi Leliana," He manages. She's dressed as Glinda the Good Witch. "Is Morrigan out here in green face paint?"

Tabris snorts and Leliana sighs.

"We couldn't get her to come out tonight. She's in her room watching The Blair Witch Project," Leliana complains, and Alistair shudders a little. That movie gave him so many nightmares when he was 14. Of course Morrigan likes it.

"Also, I'm lending you my copy of Wicked immediately," Tabris says.

"I thought that was a play?" Alistair asks.

"It was a book first, dork. We can't exactly afford theatre tickets."

"Oh, but it's such a good play," Leliana adds wistfully. "At least play him the soundtrack."

"Deal," Tabris says, swapping which hand she's holding her drink in to shake hands with her roommate. Alistair gets the feeling he doesn't really have a say in any of this.

*

The party carries on in this fashion for maybe two hours. Tabris stays with Alistair the whole time, nursing a single cup of beer. She isn't a big drinker; once, she'd admitted to him that she doesn't like the loss of control. Alistair usually gets pretty drunk at these parties, but he follows her example tonight. He doesn't want to say anything stupid.

Leliana weaves in and out of their conversations, leaving to visit other friends before coming back. They also run into Zevran, who is dressed as a sexy version of an Assassin's Creed character. Alistair is pretty sure he made it himself, because what kind of market could there be for outfits like that?

"He makes a very handsome king, doesn't he?" Zevran says, right before leaving to do shots with Isabela. Alistair swears he saw him smirk at Tabris before disappearing into the crowd. An inside joke, maybe? Tabris and Zevran are surprisingly good friends, so it's not unlikely.

"He's right, you know."

Alistair looks at Tabris with a puzzled look. She's grinning at him.

"You are very handsome. Not just as a king, though. I think I prefer regular Alistair."

Wait, is she flirting with him? Alistair suddenly feels very, very warm.

"I, um. You're not drunk, right?"

"Alistair. I've had one drink."

"Oh. Um. Right. Thank you," He says, overcome by a sudden wave of giddiness. He smiles at her like a huge dork, but she just smiles back.

*

Leliana finds them making out in a corner at 2am. Alistair's a full ten inches taller than Tabris, so she's hauled him down quite firmly to her level. She has her fingers tangled in his hair, and he doesn't actually remember where the headpiece to his costume went. It could not matter less.

"Oh my," Leliana says, giggling in a way that probably means she's had a lot more to drink than they have. Tabris lets go of Alistair's hair, but immediately relocates her hands to the front of his shirt.

"Look, you were _fully aware_ this was going to happen eventually," Tabris tells her roommate, not stepping away from Alistair at all. Leliana looks amused. Drunk, but amused.

"Well, I wasn't," Alistair says, feeling a little dazed. Tabris snorts a laugh.

"I'll kiss you until it seems obvious in hindsight later."

Alistair swallows hard.

"Excellent plan, Imperator."

"Shut up, your majesty."

**Author's Note:**

> There is flirting and kissing under the influence of 1-2 drinks in this, as well as some college underclassmen getting pretty drunk in the background.
> 
> (my tumblr is [xenosaurus](http://xenosaurus.tumblr.com))


End file.
